Inspiration for movies can come from anywhere, even actual incidents that have gone down in the past. Here is a list of 10 Korean films that are based on real-life events that might just send chills down your spine.
1. Silenced
Kang In-Ho lands a job at a school for the deaf. On his first day, he senses that the children are somewhat distant and fearful. Together with Yoo-Jin, a young lady working with the Human Rights Center, they uncover the horrifying truth about the school.The plot of the movie is based on the true events that happened at the Gwangju Inhwa School, where, in the early 2000s, multiple deaf students were assaulted sexually by the institution's faculty for over five years.
2. Voice Of A Murder
After the son of Han Kyung-Bae, a famous news anchor, gets kidnapped, his wife, Oh Ji-Sun, is hit with a high ransom of $100,000. Together with Kim Wook-Jung, a veteran detective, they try to unmask the kidnapper, but the kidnapper keeps outsmarting them at every step. The movie was based on the ‘Apkujeong Kidnapping’ and murder of Hyun Ho-Lee. The nine-year-old was kidnapped on January 29, 1991. 44 days later, his body was found in the sewers. The case was never solved and was eventually closed as its statute of limitation was crossed.
3. Hope
Su-Won is a young child who lives a very happy life with her parents Dong-Hoon and Mi-Hee. Though they do not have much, they try to make the best of what they do have. But their beautiful little world is flipped around when Su-Won is kidnapped, raped, and beaten by an unknown man, before being left to die. Hope is based on the 2008 Cho Doo-Soon case. An 8-year-old ‘Na-Young’ (pseudonym) was brutally raped and beaten by an intoxicated, 57-year-old man, in a public bathroom. The man was sentenced to 12 years in prison, causing an uproar in the country, due to the man’s history of acts of violences and because of the depth of brutality surrounding this particular case.
4. Miracle In Cell No.7
Lee Yong-Gu is a mentally impaired man who lives a moderately normal life with his daughter, Ye-Seung. All seems to be going well until he is falsely accused of abduction, rape of a minor, and murder. It is based on the the story of a man who was tortured by the South Korean Police to falsely accept charges of the murder and rape of a 9 year old, in 1982, in Chuncheon. Due to the degree of torture he experienced, the man ultimately pleaded guilty. He was finally exonerated in 2008.
5. Memories Of Murderer
Two detectives Park Doo-Man and Cho Yong-Koo, get assigned to work together on a double murder investigation. But when more dead bodies show up following the same M.O, they realise that they are trying to apprehend South Korea’s first-ever serial killer.The movie is loosely based on the story of South Korea’s first confirmed case of serial murders that took place between 1986 and 1991, in Hwaseong.
6. The Whistleblower
Yoon Min-Cheol is a news anchor. One day he gets a call from a man named Sim Min-Ho. He claims to have worked under the scientist, Lee Jang-Hwan, famous for successfully cloning the human embryonic stem cells. But that never actually happened, according to Sim. Min-Cheol begins investigating with the help of Min-Ho. The movie is based on the MBC program ‘PD Notebook’ and how they brought the truth about the scientist Hwang Woo-Suk, into the light, following an anonymous tip from the whistleblower Ryu Youngjoon.
7. 71: Into The Fire
During the Korean War of 1950, 71 student soldiers in training fought a fierce battle that lasted for over 11 hours against the North Korean army. The students fight to protect the final defense line themselves even though they are outnumbered in every possible way. 71: Into The Fire is based on the true story of 71 under-armed and under-trained student-soldiers of South Korea, most of whom were killed during the Battle of P’ohang Dong.
8. Cart
Sun-Hee, Soon-Rye, and Hye-Mi are hardworking and diligent workers at a large supermarket. One day they are abruptly informed that all temporary workers would be laid off. Astonished by this news and its unfairness, the workers decide to go on a strike.The movie is widely based on the 2007 incident in which a supermarket chain owned by E-Land Group, had laid off temporary workers, mostly women, to bypass a new labour law that had been introduced. The workers held the strike for over 500 days.
9. Itaewon Salinsageon
Jo Jong-Pil, was a college-going teen, when he was found stabbed to death in a restroom at a fast food restaurant in Itaewon. Two Korean-Americans were found to have gone into the same restroom at the time of the murder, thus becoming the prime suspects. It is now the task of the prosecution to figure out the real culprit of the crime. Itaewon Salinsageon’ is based on the 1997 ‘Itaewon Burger King Murder’ incident. Jo Jong-Pil was found stabbed to death in a Burger King in Itaewon. Two Korean-Americans were arrested after investigation but were released due to insufficient evidence. In 2012, one of them, Arthur Patterson, was charged with extradition after a successful DNA test by the Korean Police.
10. Don’t Cry, Mommy
Yoo-Lim is a divorcee and a single mother who was happily preparing for a new life. But her world would be turning upside down when her daughter,Eun-Ah, commits suicide after she was raped by some boys at school. Since all the culprits were minors, they could not be charged, so Yoo-Lim decided to take things into her own hands.The movie is based on the ‘Kim Bu-Nam Case’ of 1991. A woman in her 30s had murdered a man in his 50s. It was later revealed that Kim had murdered the man as an act of revenge, 21 years after being raped by him.
